GANTT CHARTS

Invented by Henry Gantt, a teacher, mechanical engineer, and one of the first productivity specialists, Gantt charts were originally used to track employee productivity. The first Gantt charts were a very humble method for tracking the progress of factory workers compared to a standard level of performance. Current Gantt charts list the steps in a project and illustrate when each step is expected to begin and end. Early uses of the Gantt chart for project management were the Hoover Dam Project (1931) and the Eisenhower highway network (1956).

An early Gantt chart

A modern version of the Gantt chart

Monitoring a Project

A Gantt chart lets you see immediately what should have been achieved at any point in time.

A Gantt chart lets you see how remedial action may bring the project back on course. Most Gantt charts include “milestones” which are not part of a traditional Gantt Chart.

However, for representing deadlines and other significant events, it is very useful to include this feature on a Gantt chart.

Gantt chart software often includes everything needed to monitor a project.

Planning and Scheduling

Use a Gantt chart to plan how long a project should take. A Gantt chart lays out the order in which the tasks need to be carried out.

Early Gantt charts did not show dependencies between tasks but modern Gantt chart software provides this capability.

Henry Laurence Gantt, an American mechanical engineer, is credited with the invention of the Gantt chart.

Try Gantt chart software to help with planning and scheduling your next project.

A Timeline of Henry L. Gantt’s life

Henry L. Gantt was born way before any computers or Gantt chart software came about. What would the inventor of the Gantt chart think to know that the simple format he came up with would still be around in a variety of forms in the 21st century? What would he think about Gantt chart software?

More about Gantt charts:

Gantt charts offer a simple way to plan a project and monitor a project’s progress.

A Gantt chart is a type of a bar chart which illustrates a project’s schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of project elements and provide a summary of the project.

Some Gantt charts also show the dependency relationships between activities.

Gantt charts can be used to show current schedule status using percent-complete shadings and a vertical “Today” line.

Many Gantt chart software products are available today. Unlike Henry Gantt’s original charts, which were hand-drawn and must have had a lot of erasures, today’s Gantt charts can be edited on a computer and are invariably are printed or plotted.